Betsy made Italian wedding soup, plus an appetizer of pumpernickel with an herb butter, proscuitto, and asparagus; wine was the 2009 Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet (Rouge). Sturdy, full, and round, a well-made ripe PN with some tannin. Enjoyable. B

Thursday she made crispy duck with peppers, garlic chives, & sichuan pepper, plus steamed shrimp wontons, Swiss chard, and rice. Wine was the 2010 Lafouge “La Chapelle” Auxey-Duresses 1er. Just as good as last bottle- tangy red fruits, great acids (plenty of zing, but no shrillness), moderate ripe tannin, aromas of smoke and earth. Drinking quite well now, but deserves to age. Holds up very well overnight (I took leftovers to a Friday night tasting, guys loved) A-/B+

Friday I was cooking/shopping - I got the flounder but Betsy did the pan-frying, I made escarole/shanghai gratin and a duck and soba soup. .Wine was the 2004 Blain-Gagnard “ La Boudriotte” Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru. No p’ox here- fresh and young. citrus/lemon with some white peach notes, mineral on finish. B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellentwine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at aparty where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises ofobjectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Dale Williams wrote:Thursday she made crispy duck with peppers, garlic chives, & sichuan pepper, plus steamed shrimp wontons, Swiss chard, and rice. Wine was the 2010 Lafouge “La Chapelle” Auxey-Duresses 1er. Just as good as last bottle- tangy red fruits, great acids (plenty of zing, but no shrillness), moderate ripe tannin, aromas of smoke and earth. Drinking quite well now, but deserves to age. Holds up very well overnight (I took leftovers to a Friday night tasting, guys loved) A-/B+.

Nice. I had my first Lafouge wines this weekend. (At least I don't remember drinking them in the past) The 2010 La Chapelle and the 2010 Chanlins. I liked them both a lot although I was surprised at how flavorful and even 'forward' they seemed, within their restrained structure. Not what I expected from the appellations, but certainly a lot of fun and hard to complain about.